The present disclosure relates to wall-mounted electric switches and the mounting of electric switch cover plates. The electronic switch is used many times a day by anyone with electric lights and appliances. Edison was granted his patent on the Electric light bulb in 1880 and man has been trying to improve the way we turn on and off the bulb and other electronic appliances ever since.
The mechanical electric switch has improved over the years but it has been a slow evolution. Many of the undesirable aspects of the mechanical switch remain in most installations and are evident to most users, which include, for instance:
1. The ugly plastic lever that protrudes through expensive plates diminishing their esthetic value. The rocker switch was created to lessen the protrusion but requires even more plastic be visible and touched.
2. The mechanical switch is hard to clean, creating a health issue with its cheap plastic, small size, groves and live electric wires with no barricade to keep cleaning fluid from shorting the switch.
3. The mechanical electric switch requires an aesthetically-handicapped user interface which limits design options, can be noisy and almost eliminates the creation of homemade covers due to the need for precise slots for switch and mounting screw requirements.
4. The mechanical switch is difficult to install, needing to wrap thick wires around screws. A new method of installation for the connection system was created for electricians, but is also ineffective because it is difficult to disconnect.
Overcoming these limitations has been attempted through the years and is well documented as is explored below. The bulk of switches in use are mechanical switches that toggle or include the newer flatter rocker switch. Recent years have seen the advent of electrical switches that have improved on the mechanical switch, requiring only a touch to activate. These switches generally sense a touch on a painted metal target.
Leviton, a big electric switch manufacturer, has a line of switches that are activated by touch but look almost identical to the toggle mechanical switch it hopes to replace. See Leviton Catalog Number TTI06-1. In addition, the cover plate on this line of switches is not isolated from the circuit, actually exposing the user to 120 volts, though at very low current. Leviton uses a built-in plate with lead paint and provides no options for using other materials to match the look of a room, for a better feel or other purposes. The Leviton Touch Switch also recommends a third wire in the wall receptacle that is not always available especially in older installations.
All of these implementations define the look of the switch. The toggle, rocker and the painted metal cover plate must all be visible. Many people have tried to improve the look of mechanical switches, one switch at a time, using wallpaper or other material or by trying to disguise them because they are generally not aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, the mechanical switches and the Leviton touch switch are vulnerable to corrosion with exposure of metal parts to moisture which will short if exposed to an appreciable amount of water.
Other previously-manufactured electrical switches that include touch sensing are limited in their circuitry such that the touch surface through which the switches are activated has to be a certain thickness and type of material to ensure proper calibration for sensing touch. These shortcomings have limited the creativity with which the switches are built and whether and to what extent the switches can be customized or updated aesthetically as designs of a room or space change.